Apparatus for coaling ships at sea.



A.; QEN.-

APPARATUS ron uoALmG sms AT SEA.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 28, 190B. 903,094 Patented Nov. 3, 1908. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ANDREW JOHAN, F NEW YORK, N. Y.

.espasmos Foa coALINe SHIPS AT SEA.-

Specification o! Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 3, 1908.

Application flied April 28, 1908. Serial No. 429,716.

To all wiwi/t it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW JOHAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Im roved Apparatus for Coalinv Ships at Sea, o which the following is a full, clear, and exact descri tion.

'l is invention is an improved apparatus for transferring at sea, material from one ship to another', relating more especially to the coaling of war vessels from colliers. This is accomplished in accordance with my invention by placing a collier in tow of the vessel and providingr one or Inore travelingr cables between them, on which the 'coal or other material is carried, the said cables having means operatively connected therewith to maintain them under constant and equal tension during the rollin' and pitching,T of the boats in heavy seas, t iis constant and equal tension on the cables being maintained irrespective of the tension on, or slackness of, the hawser connectingr the two boats together.

Reference is to be had to the aceompany ing drawingsforrning o. part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate co|rospon,.ing parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view in side elevation, illustrating the nature of my improvements; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; Fig. 2 is a side elevation, on an enlarged seule and partly in section, of that portion of the apparatus which is applied to the collier; Fig. 4 is a plan ol the same; Fig. 5 is a side elm Ltion, on an enlarged scale, of that portion of the apparatus applied to the vessel to which the coal or other material is to he transferred; Fig. 6 is a plan of the saine; and Fig. 7 is n. perspective view ol" the moans hy which the coal or other sacks are detachably applied to the transfer cables.

Referring more especially to 1 to 4, illustrating` that portion o'f the apparatus which is a )plied to the collier or other vessel l rom which theinaterial is to bc transferred, the saine consists of a suitable supporting frame 10, of considerable length, carried on the deck of the boat at the stern, and is provided with longitudinal slots 1.1, at each side, extending approximately its full length. ln these slots is laterally slidable a crossbeam 12, ,which is also adapted to laterally swing, and is held against endwise movement b curved shoes 13 attached. thereto at the lnside of the frame. A cable 14 is attached at each side of the center and to the rear of the cross-beam, and passes one or more times about a roller or sheave 15 jonrnaled at the rear end of the frame, with the free ends of the cables attached to a Weight 6 movable within a Well 17 provided in the oat.

At each end ol'jl the crossbearn l2 is journaled a sheave 18 at the outside of the frame, and at the inside of the 'frame the cross-beam is provided at the front at nach side of its center with a sheave 19,

The apparatus carried by the vessel to Which the coal or other material is delivered, as best shown in Figs. 5 and 6, comprises a suitable supportin -7 l'raxne 21 xnoinited on the deck at the bow and carrying a cross-shaft 22, journaled near its top, to thc outer ends of which are fixed sheaves 23, the shaft boing driven from a motor or other suitable source of power 24, by a chain passing `from a sprocket Wheel 25 fixed to the driving shaft, over a s roeketwheel 25" attached to the shaft 22. orward of the frame 21, a, somewhat narrower supporting traino 26 is provided, the Same also carrying` a crossshaft 27, corresponding to the shaft 22 of the frame 21 and havino' sheaves 28 attached to its outer ends, the shaft 27, as shown, being driven by a motor 29 through a chain 3F),

At the outside and at the opposite sides of the frames 10, 21 and 26, platforms 31, 32 and 33 are respectively provided for supportin the operators, the platforms in the case o the frame 10 extending its full length, and the platforms of the frame 2l having coal chutes 34 leading therefrom below deck to the coal bunkers or other convenient point.- A't the front of the sheaves 23 and 28, just above the platforms 82 and 3b re A spectively, are projecting arms 32a, 33, providing stops fol` n. purpose hereinafter made apparent.

In the use of the apparatus, a collier or other vessel having the frame 10 takes the vessel having the receiving portion of the apparatusintow, the two boats being thus connected together b a hawser 35. Cables 36 and 37 are exten ed from one vessel to the other before they separate, and are respectively passed over the sheaves 18, 23, 19 and 28, the cables being of such length that when 12 will be well advanced to the stern,Y and the weight 16 will be at or near the to of thewell 17. By this const-'2 ction the ca les will be maintained under a constant and equal tension irrespective of the slackness or tightness of the hawser, which is obviously nder a variable pull in a rough sea, in which case the cross-beam 12 will be constantly traveling back and forth and swinging from side to sit e.

I referably deliver the coal or other materiali in sacks, as shown in Fig. 7, each sack f having a rope or otlier llexible line 38 looped about it and adapted to receive a loop 39 connected to the opposite lfevers of a pair of suspending tongs 40, one lever of the tongs having a hook 41 for engaging over the cable, The loops 38 and 39 are detachably connected together by a pin 42 which is preferabl ofconical form and attached to the suspen ing tongs in order that it may not be accidentally lost. The operators standing on pen ing tongs engage over the cables at intervals, and 'as these cables travel to the receiving mechanism by the operation of the motors 24 and 29, the operators standing on the platforms 32 and 33 withdraw the pins 42 as the suspendin tongs strike the stops 32 and 33, thus re easing the sacks; these sto s operating to bring the tongs to a standstill) and permitting of the cables slidin therethrough until the tongs are released an placed upon the upper length ofthe cable for the return trip.V

By maintaining the cables under an equalized and constant tension, the transfer mayA be carried out with safety under the most unfavorable circumstances.

Having thus described rnyV invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: i

1. In an apparatus for transferrin Y at sea, material from one ship to another, t e combination of sheaves carried by one of the ships, a cross-beam slidabl and swingingly mounted, carried by the ot er ship an havin sheaves at its opposite ends, continuous f ca les passing over the sheaves from one ship to the other, 'on which the material is carried, and a weight connected to the crossbeam for equalizlng the strain on the cables and maintaining them underconstant tenf sion. i

` s up, sheaves carried on the last mentioned frame, cables passing over the sheaves from one ship to the other, on which the material the (platforms 31 appli; the sacks to the sus` frame, a frame carried on the other ship and s having sheaves, cables passing from one ship to the other over the last mentioned sheaves and the sheaves at the ends of the crossbeam, a frame arranged on said other ship in advance of the last mentioned frame and having sheaves, cables passing fron` one ship to the other over the last mentioned sheaves and the sheaves attached to the cross-beam at the inside of the first mentioned frame, and a Weight having a connection with the cross-beam, passing over said roller. 4. In an apparatus for transferrin at sea, material from one ship to another, t 1e combination of a cross-beam carried' by one of the ships and slidably and swingingly su ported, sheaves carried on the opposite ends of the cross-beam, sheaves carried byy the other ship, cables between the ships, passing over said sheaves, means forcing the beam in a direction to keep the cables under tension, hangers rdetachably engaging With the cables, on which the material to be transferred is carried, platforms arranged adjacent to each of the sheaves for supporting the operators, and a chute for receivin the material, leading from one of the lat orms.

5. In an apparatus for trans errinnr at sea,-

material from one ship to another, t ie combination of a traveling cable, tong hangers having means at one end of its levers for engaging the cable, a flexible loop attached to the opposite end of the levers, a sack for carby the beam traveling continuous cables passing over the sheaves from one ship to the other, and means attached to the beam for maintaining the cables under approximately equalV and constant tensions. "n"

8. In a transporting apparatus, the

cnn-1- mounted on the other ship, sheaves carried binutlion of :i plurality of endless cables for i In testimony whereof I have signed my transporting und sustaining ofids during name to this Speciicaton 1n the presence of their transit, and lnezins 'for mamtauung ull two subscriblng wltnesses.

of the cables under tension, operating to i111- ANDREW JOHAN. 5 tomatically relieve one of the calilfis of undue VitnessGS:

strain and take up the slack in another of W. W. Hour,

said cables. JOHN I. DAVIS. 

